Spawn -
Along with what DrunkIQ said, if you had an LA Benge, which from the 15xxx SN it seems you did, and you LOVED that horn, then you owe it to yourself to try a Kanstul Chicago. Tom Turner, a well respected guy here and other places, has a lot of experience with old Strads and Benges and he says the Chicago plays like the best older Benges.
Also, quality is no comparison. A Kanstul horn is in another league above Selmer.
If you can't find a Kanstul dealer near you, try PickMusic:
http://www.pickmusic.net/custom_chicago.htm
or Springfield Music:
http://springfield-music.com/band-orch.htm
I guess my advice is that there are a LOT of really fantastic horns out there to try. Keep in mind, the smaller builders like Kanstul, Wild Thing, Eclipse, Callet... are successful because of outstanding quality and service, not because they crank out thousands of horns a year like Bach, Yamaha, etc.
Greg